Analysis
Writer: Khalil Rahnaward
Introduction:
During the fallen republic, the occupiers and their internal allies tried to distort values, promote false heroes to deceive the people, and inflate personalities. This series was moving very quickly, with an attempt to distort a value every day, with traitors, corrupt individuals, spies, and looters of the country being brought up every day, their characters inflated, false titles of heroism given to the deceased, and medals and multi-star ranks bestowed upon the living.
These titles, medals, and ranks were bestowed upon those who had traded in the blood, sacrifices, and selflessness of the Afghan believing and mujahid people. They had not refrained from any evil act, from looting the country’s resources to corruption, treason, espionage, and betrayal.
September 9th coincides with the day of the death of such a person, whose stories of betrayal, espionage, and patriotism have not remained hidden, but whose supporters have always tried to create false narratives about him and present a fake image of heroism, compassion, selflessness, and patriotism instead of multiple faces.
Ahmad Shah Massoud:
Ahmad Shah Massoud was born in 1332, when Panjshir was a district, in the village of Jagdalak in that district, at the home of Colonel Dost Mohammad Khan. He completed his primary education at the Istiqlal High School in Kabul, then enrolled at the Kabul Polytechnic Institute, but after the Davod Khan coup, he immigrated to Peshawar and joined Burhanuddin Rabbani there.
This person, meaning “Ahmad Shah Massoud,” became an important figure within the Northern Alliance and was made into an excellent fighter for the interests of foreigners. Every coin has two faces, and similarly, many former politicians and players in the wars of Afghanistan also had two faces. However, among them all, Massoud was different. He, like a brick, had multiple faces and played for anyone who could benefit from him.
Massoud co-led the Jamiat party with Burhanuddin Rabbani. They had declared a government in several northern provinces of the country and had a cabinet. In 1992, the militias of Massoud and Dostum captured Kabul, overthrew Najib’s government, and Massoud became the Minister of Defense. Later, Massoud began a power struggle with the militias of Hekmatyar and Dostum, destroying Kabul due to internal and organizational conflicts.
Massoud, who had close ties with Bernard, Jews, France, and Western society, also had close espionage connections with the opposing direction of this political bloc, namely the Soviet Union at the time, against whom Masoud claimed credit for fighting and whose followers he used to achieve personal goals instead of leading them to a holy struggle.
Massoud was a played figure who played different games during the Soviet occupation, the civil wars, and then the initial rule of the Islamic Emirate. Although Massoud appeared to be an influential leader among the coalition, the reality is that Massoud was only a fighter, not an effective leader. Similarly, no matter what personality, strategy, or thot Massoud possessed, he was limited to a political and military group.
Ahmad Shah Massoud as a Criminal:
Masoud committed numerous crimes over the years, but his blind followers always tried to hide his crimes. However, history has preserved all of his crimes in its pages. Massoud’s supporters have tried to hide these crimes with false narratives, but hiding them is impossible.
Let’s revisit one of the many crimes committed by Massoud. On December 12 and 13, 1992, the fighters of the Shura-e Nazar, led by Massoud, attacked the Afshar area of Kabul, where Hazara citizens were living at the time. The cruel forces of the Shura-e Nazar committed countless atrocities against the Hazara citizens in this area, including widespread killings, torture, and abuse, during which thousands of citizens were brutally murdered.
The fighters of the Shura-e Nazar committed such horrific crimes there that even historians are ashamed to recount them. According to investigations and reports by Human Rights Watch and other international organizations, the militias of Ahmad Shah Massoud and Sayyaf killed over 1,000 Hazara civilians in the Afshar and Karte Seh areas of Kabul, and took between 700 and 750 people with them, some of whom were later released and some of whom disappeared.
Followers of Massoud’s detested ideology have made great efforts to remove this stain from their criminal leader’s forehead and to show his bloodstained hands as clean of innocent human blood, but Massoud’s crimes are unforgivable, the victims’ families and relatives still recount stories of his crimes, have not forgotten those sorrows, and have not forgiven the perpetrators of such crimes.
Ahmad Shah Massoud as a Spy:
During the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, the country became a testing ground for some major powers. Later, during the country’s internal conflicts, foreign intelligence interference in Afghanistan reached its peak. Ahmad Shah Massoud, who sold the Panjshir Emerald to the French and European merchants for financial support during the Soviet invasion, had established close ties with the societies, officials, and intelligence circles of these countries.
To expand, protect, and supply the power, as well as to cut off or at least reduce all threats, Masoud had already established relations and signed secret agreements with his opposing direction, the Soviet Union, during the Red Army’s invasion. At that time, Massoud and the Northern Alliance controlled some areas in the north of the country, and the Red Army’s supply route was also on the Northern Alliance’s path. Therefore, it can be said that the cooperation between Massoud and the Soviets was a necessity for both.
Massoud had sought cooperation from the Soviet Union against some other parties, and this hope was in the Soviet Union’s favor. On the other hand, Massoud was a pragmatic person and easily made deals with anyone to achieve his interests.
In a report to the Ministry of Defense, an officer from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Defense, Colonel Anatoly Tkachev, who had a secret meeting with Massoud in 1982, stated that Ahmad Shah was a very influential and authoritative figure in Afghanistan and that he could be reasoned with under certain conditions.
Why was Massoud called the “National Hero”?
Massoud was neither the leader of a national movement nor the head of a national government in Afghanistan, known to everyone, and to accepted by all the people of the country as a hero. Massoud’s military and political life was for the benefit of others. He was presented as a sympathetic figure to the country in front of the cameras of French journalists, but the reality was different.
The question is important: Why was a military commander associated with a specific region and party of the country introduced under the title of “National Hero”? This introduction was due to the political pressures of the coalition, which was later used to promote Massoud’s personality to consolidate the power of one group and marginalize others.
During the fallen republic, promoting the fabricated ideology and thot of someone named Massoud, under the pretext of September 9th, was forcibly imposed on the people as a national value. However, in reality, all of his actions were based on an organizational axis. If Massoud is given the title of “National Hero,” then it must also be proven what he did for the Afghan people? And what has he done for that country!?
Seeking Privilege in the Name of Massoud:
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a military figure, famous among the Alliance, but his family was not as prominent as the members of his family who gained prominence during the Republic. Zia Massoud and other members of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s family found important positions during the fallen Republic and held a special place in the name of this warlord. If they were expelled from their positions, they would then exert pressure on the Arg thru Abdullah and others.
His son, Ahmad Massoud, was also unknown to anyone. He was a child at that time, and he lived and studied in Iran and Europe. However, he is now trying to become prominent among former politicians like his father, hoping they will gather around him and he will become one of the leaders of the alliance, just like his father. But this is a dream and an illusion because, except for a few limited media platforms, all the paths that Ahmad Massoud could use to take his father’s place are closed to him.
September 9th (Sunbula 18):
Masoud was killed on September 9, 2001 (1380 Hijri Solar year) in Takhar province by two journalists. After this, the events of September 11th occurred, and the United States invaded Afghanistan and established a republic. In 2002, the early days of the republic, Karzai was president in name only, while real power rested with members of the coalition, particularly Mohammad Qasim Fahim and the Massoud family. At that time, the coalition had largely relinquished its powers, and the entire structure of the Kabul regime was military. The coalition and the Shura-e Nazar militias had occupied security agencies and key ministries. Karzai was forced to comply with the orders of the coalition and the Shura-e Nazar, in addition to the foreigners.
In the same year, there were pressures on Karzai to declare Massoud a “National Hero.” Karzai agreed and declared September 9th as an official holiday. In later years, the Wolesi Jirga and the Senate also made various agreements and decisions on this issue, but ultimately, September 9th was officially celebrated and declared a holiday within the country as the day of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s death.
This official day was not celebrated based on national consensus but rather due to pressure from a specific political current, namely the Northern Alliance. During the celebration of September 9th, not only were actions against public tranquility and urban order carried out, but this day was also used to perpetuate ethnic biases and political dominance.
The celebration of September 9th by Ahmad Shah Massoud’s supporters during the fallen republic was not just a day to commemorate an individual; it was a political spectacle aimed at demonstrating power, authority, influence, and ethnic dominance. The streets of the capital Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Takhar, and other cities were filled with images of Massoud, banners about him, and the presence of his disruptive supporters.
September 9th is one of the days that was previously considered a day of mourning, hardship, and chaos among ordinary Afghans. Now, this day is celebrated in European countries, and ordinary Afghans are safe from its evil. The celebration of this day will be accompanied by random shootings, traffic restrictions, violence, and harassment. Under the name of September 9th, irresponsible armed men roamed the city streets, openly sending the message to the people that power is ours and the law is subject to us.
The 9th of September was also the day of contempt for the constitution drafted by the helpless and powerless republic. The government and officials watched these disturbances with eyes of helplessness. Among the general public, fear spread with the arrival of this day, and they were unable to react due to fear.
Ahmad Shah Massoud did not hold a position representing all the people of Afghanistan, nor were his achievements such that there was a national consensus about them. History built on incorrect decisions trains generations fed by prejudice and distortion, a generation whose spectacle the Afghan nation observed on September 9th for twenty years. Such personality-driven politics of the fallen republic hindered nation-building and undermined national unity.
Result and Summary:
Ahmad Shah Massoud, no matter how much he is promoted as a hero, the truth can not be hidden from the memory of history. His personality must also be evaluated in light of his war crimes, involvement in organizational conflicts, and political divisions. Behind the displayed image of Massoud lies hidden a multitude of crimes and his negative image. Masoud has always cooperated with political players of the time, foreign intelligence agencies, and power-seeking currents for his goals. He was made into a fake “National Hero” without his all-encompassing achievements and true sacrifices being proven, and without national consensus being reached on his heroism.
Ahmad Shah Massoud was only a limited military figure for a small group, not a representative of the entire nation. His warmongering life, the tragedy of the Afshars, secret dealings with the Soviets, and crimes are the true face of Massoud. In the past, the political thinking presented annually on September 9th by the Alliance and the Shura-e Nazar was essentially imposed on the nation.
During the fallen republic, members of the coalition and supporters of Massoud used the name, image, and legend of a single person for power, influence, and political dominance. However, September 9th was a day of fear and chaos for ordinary Afghans and led to the stirring of ethnic sensitivities. Historical evidence has clarified that considering Massoud a “National Hero” was a political imposition, not a national honor; he was neither a national figure nor did he possess national thot or a genuine connection to the pains of Afghanistan, but rather his name was used for the business of power, playing with the memory of the people and sowing the seeds of division instead of national unity.
A new government has been in power in Afghanistan for the past four years, Afghanistan has been freed from the rule of groups of evil and corruption, the authority of members of the Northern Alliance and the Shura-e Nazar has been dismantled, and Afghans have breathed a sigh of relief; now, on September 9th, Massoud’s militia cannot block streets, pose a threat to public order, or carry out harassing actions.
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